Comments about real estate, economy, and issues that affect my job as a Realtor.
Lately, of great importance is the display of the most important
PRE-CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN SOUTH FLORIDA.
My name is Henry B. Nathan
I am a realtor at United Realty Group.
My phone # is 954-296-6741

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Saturday, October 17, 2015

Pre Construction is an expression used to identify properties that have not been built yet, but are in an advanced stage when their developer has already established a sales office and a sales team which cooperates with some realtors.

In Fort Lauderdale, I am presently actively selling these properties:

The Gale Fort Lauderdale Residences

A South Beach icon hotel, The Gale, will build a new boutique hotel in Fort Lauderdale.
Located on one of the most appreciated waterfront locations, between Sunrise Blvd. and Las Olas Blvd., this area of Fort Lauderdale Beach has attracted some of the best high-end hotels.

The Gale Residences will be located next to the Gale Hotel. They will not be "condo-hotel" units but
condominium residences, with their own amenities, pool, sundeck, and much more; Additionally, owners at the Gale Residences will have the privilege to use most of the hotel's amenities.
Condo Fees will be much lower that a typical condo-hotel.
Owners will be able to rent their unit with no restrictions; they would also be able to place it in the Gale Hotel's rental program if they eventually choose this additional option. It seems to be the best of both worlds.

Completion: Estimated at end of mid-2017
Developed By: Newgard Development Group and Menin Hospitality

Architect: Garcia Stromberg

128 Exclusive Residences

Starting Price: From the low $400,000s

Many Units with Intracoastal or Ocean Views

The Gale Fort Lauderdale Hotel

The Gale Residences Pool Area

--------------------------------

RIVA - Fort Lauderdale

The Riva Waterfront Fort Lauderdale

Alongside Fort Lauderdale Middle River, RIVA overlooks the 20-acre George English Park to the ocean beyond.

The W Fort Lauderdale Residences was built in 2008. These 147 Units have
never been sold until the present. The East Tower has been and will
continue being the site of the W Hotel.

At W Fort Lauderdale Residences, the apartments will be delivered
completely finished, decorated, and FURNISHED, with good looking floors,
appliances.
Owners will therefore be able to use their apartment the minute it’s
delivered to you. And you will not have to deal with construction work.

The newly imagined Residences at W Fort Lauderdale offer resort living at its best.

Unobstructed ocean and city views from plush private balconies. These
finishing touches infuse the residences with W Fort Lauderdale’s
signature elegance and comfort. Spa services, dedicated welcome
ambassadors, a fitness center and oceanfront dining are all within this
convenient complex.

Owners will be able to use the building’s pool, gym and other amenities,
while at the same time they are allowed to enjoy all W Fort Lauderdale
Hotel’s amenities, beach facilities.

The W Fort Lauderdale Residences - Pool area

The developers are advertising these properties as condominium units.
However, there will be no rental restrictions at W Fort Lauderdale
Residences. This means that owners should be able to rent for long or
short periods if they want to produce income from their property.

But, unlike most condo-hotels, they can also choose to live and enjoy their apartment the whole year without limitations.
In case that an owner at W Fort Lauderdale Residences would want to
use his apartment for just a few weeks every year and rent it the rest
of the time, without the efforts and worries, he can place it in W Fort
Lauderdale Hotel’s rental program.
Price Range:

One-bedroom units start in the $700's
Two-bedroom units start at around $1M.

Tuesday, October 06, 2015

After shedding around
900,000 policies over the past three years, Florida's state-run insurer of last
resort plans to downsize even more through 2016.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has reduced its risk from
nearly 1.5 million policies in 2012 to less than 586,000 policies today and
sees itself shrinking further – to between 400,000 and 450,000 policies by the
end of next year, company officials said this week.

About 47 percent of Citizens' remaining policies are in
Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.

Private insurance companies absorbed 416,723 Citizens
policies in 2014 and 141,680 so far this year through a state-mandated
"takeout" policy that aims to reduce the amount of risk borne by
Citizens.

"Takeout activity is just going at an unprecedented pace,"
Citizens President and CEO Barry Gilway said Wednesday at the company's Board
of Governors meeting. "And the interesting thing is there's growing
interest in areas of our business that didn't exist before."

For the first time, private companies are showing interest
in taking over coastal and wind-only policies.

Gilway said the number of Citizens policies could be in the
"low 500,000 range" by the end of the year.

That's because 465,357 more policies have been approved for
takeout by the Office of Insurance Regulation in October and November. Tens of
thousands of Citizens customers in South Florida can expect to receive letters
stating that their policies will shift to a new carrier unless they "opt
out" of the transfer and decide to stay with Citizens.

From January through July, about 22 percent of policies
approved for takeout were actually assumed by new carriers, but insurers have
been making fewer offers to approved policyholders since July. One reason is
the private companies have already chosen the least risky of Citizen's
policies. Remaining policies tend to be higher risk but cost less than what
should be charged in the private insurance market.

Private companies have been able to grow rapidly in large
part because of the low cost of reinsurance – what insurance companies buy from
larger companies to make sure they can cover claims after a catastrophe. And
reinsurance costs are low because fewer global catastrophes have occurred over
the past few years, while low interest rates have persuaded more investors to
enter the reinsurance market in search of higher returns.

In Florida as well, insurers are profitable and Citizens
entered the storm season in June with $7.5 billion in surplus and $3.9 billion
in reinsurance coverage because the state hasn't been hit by a named hurricane
since 2005. That situation could change rapidly if a storm does occur, but for
now, private insurers have been able to persuade policyholders to accept a
transfer because they've been able to offer lower premiums.

Citizens this week outlined changes in how policyholders
will be notified of their takeout selection by private insurers.

As of this month, offer letters will include a comparison of
estimated premiums the policyholder will pay if they allow assumption by the new
company, as well as if they remain with Citizens. Previous letters included
only premiums for the new company.

"We think that's hopefully a game-changer with respect
to folks having the information they need to make an informed decision,"
said Christine Ashburn, Citizens' vice president of Communication, Legislative
and External affairs.

Policyholders will now get a letter from Citizens informing
them about the takeout before they get a letter from the new company.
Previously, only the new company sent a letter, which some customers mistook
for junk mail.

Policyholders still must send "opt out" letters to
the new insurer if they decide to remain with Citizens, but in the future,
Citizens plans to enable an online method for opting out.

Friday, October 02, 2015

By early 2016, four more insurers are set to join 14 others
in a clearinghouse that boots renewing customers out of state-run Citizens
Property Insurance Corp. if a private carrier offers coverage for the same
price or less.

Still, the computerized clearinghouse used by agents,
launched in 2014, so far has sent far fewer customers to private insurers than
traditional "takeout" offers companies mail to Citizens
policyholders.

To date, 2,388 policies have not been renewed out of nearly
600,000 at Citizens by way of the clearinghouse, records prepared for a
Citizens board meeting Wednesday show.

That's nowhere near the 141,680 who have left this year
through transfer offers sent by mail, though the acceptance rate for those
offers has dropped below 50 percent this year from 70 percent in 2014.

Scheduled to join the clearinghouse in the first quarter of
2016 are Edison Insurance Co., Monarch National, Southern Fidelity Insurance
and Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty.

Citizens officials say there is reason to think the
clearinghouse itself may be driving takeout offers, because insurers have been
prodded to extend offers through state-approved letters rather than wait for a
clearinghouse resolution where the customer premium might be lower.

About 40 percent of the company's policies have not passed
through the clearinghouse because they have been targeted for takeout offers,
said Adam Marmelstein, who oversees the clearinghouse for Citizens.

CEO Barry Gilway told the Citizens board Wednesday the
company continues to play "whack-a-mole" with a host of challenges
including water-loss claims in Miami-Dade County.

But he expects the company to keep getting smaller,
regardless of the exit ramp customers may take. Executives have estimated if
Florida's decade-long hurricane reprieve continues, the Citizens customer count
could fall as low as 450,000 next year from a high of 1.5 million in 2012.